Acquitted of manslaughter, Mobile woman says victim 'lives on' through her efforts to help others suffering from addiction

View full sizeMaria Hirtreiter, left, is seen with Doris Littleton, founder and executive director of the Home of Grace addiction recovery center for women in this undated photo. Hirtreiter said she found a new perspective on life through her treatment and volunteerism at the facility. (Courtesy Maria Hirtreiter)

MOBILE, Alabama – Shortly after the accident that claimed the life of an elderly woman on the way to visit her best friend, Maria Hirtreiter went into a deep depression.

As the driver of the car that hit 69-year-old Gaynell Payne on March 16, 2012, Hirtreiter was burdened with the life that had been lost. But she also knew that because of her actions on that day, she faced a legal battle that might send her to prison.

About a month after that dark day on Dauphin Island Parkway, Hirtreiter was arrested and charged with manslaughter when it was discovered she had taken methamphetamine the day of the crash.

But it was in the months after Payne’s death, when she was prescribed to tranquilizers to help with the depression, that Hirtreiter said a new purpose in her life was unveiled.

In the hopes of stopping the use of drugs – prescribed or otherwise – she said she checked herself into the Home of Grace addiction recovery center for women in Mobile.

View full sizeGaynell Payne is seen with her great-granddaughter in this undated photo. Payne died in March 2012 after an automobile accident on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile. (Courtesy Patricia Vines)

In an exclusive interview with AL.com, Hirtreiter said she spent three months getting treatment at the facility, and ever since has been involved there as a sponsor and mentor, sharing her story.

“It has changed my perspective on life,” she said. “I want others to know that an accident like this, as tragic as it is, can happen in an instant.

“Whether you’re under the influence or not, whether you’re impaired or not.”

Over the three days of her trial, the methamphetamine’s possible effect on Hirtreiter, as she drove her 2-year-old son home that day, was the centerpiece.

Prosecutors alleged it was affecting her judgment when she pulled out in front of Payne’s vehicle. And the victim’s family maintained, even after the verdict was rendered, that they still felt Hirtreiter should have been held accountable.

“I’m very angry, I’m very sad,” Vines said on Thursday. “My mom was taken away that day, and no one is going to be held accountable for that?”

Twenty-four hours after the verdict, Hirtreiter had a message for the grieving family. She said she wanted them to know “she still lives on through my heart and through my mind.”

“I have a heavy heart for them and feel deep sorrow for that family,” Hirtreiter said. “I’m truly sorry.

“I believe that there’s no victory in that courtroom, no one wins in situations like this.”

She said she felt she owed Payne’s family, and the jurors, the chance to hear the truthful details of that day from her own mouth. Even if that meant admitting to snorting methamphetamine provided to her by the paraplegic man she was caring for as a certified nursing assistant.

And no matter how she’s judged because of her testimony, Hirtreiter said it was another step in the healing process, more than two years after the accident.

“It was a moment where I felt a burden being lifted,” she said. “I am a woman of faith and I believe that the truth will set you free.”

One prayer she says she still maintains is that one day she and the victim’s family will be able to “sit down together and talk.”

“And they would be able to share with me their precious memories of Ms. Payne,” Hirtreiter said.